THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

June 19, 2024

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Most of us are probably familiar with 1 Corinthians chapter 13, which is commonly referred to as the "love chapter". Verses 4-7 tells us what love is: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." The chapter ends with this verse: "Three things will last forever -- faith, hope, and love -- but the greatest of these is love."

If we were asked what love looks like, our answer may be a mother holding her baby in her arms; or a father patiently teaching his small son how to do something; or the pride in parents' eyes whenever they watch their child pass a milestone and accomplish something new; or a couple gazing into one another's eyes as they stand in front of family and friends and say their wedding vows; or an older couple, who have celebrated many years of marriage, walking hand in hand together.

Those things all are wonderful pictures of love; but really, is that all that love compasses? Jesus is teaching in Mark chapter 12 and says, "The most important commandment is this: 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these two."

We like to think that we live in a very different world than anyone else has ever lived in, and are dealing with more hardships than ever before and have it harder than any other generation. But if you read the Bible, ever since the beginning of time, people have had the very same struggles and issues that we deal with today. Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived and he wrote this in Ecclesiastes 1:9-11: "History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, 'Here is something new!' But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don't remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now."

People have always had a hard time loving others and have dealt with the same type of issues that we see today. It's new to us, but it's not new to the world.

Jesus knew what He was saying when he was teaching about love. Some translations end that passage by Jesus stating that there are no other commandments greater than those two. It is very important that we love the Lord our God; but is is also very important that we love others.

It seems in many situations in our world, if anyone disagrees with someone or has different beliefs or different lifestyles or different political opinions.... then they are accused of being intolerant and not loving. So many seem to have the mindset that, "I am right, and if you disagree with me, then you are wrong and you don't love me!" Yet those very same people are, also, disagreeing with others; but seem to view themselves as being the ones who are being discriminated against or the ones who are being wronged.

I don't have to agree with someone 100% of the time on every single issue in order to love them! And I would hope that you all would agree. We aren't created as clones of one another, so we are going to have different outlooks and opinions and ways of viewing things.

My husband and I don't always agree on everything thing; but we still love each other and are committed to one another. We don't always like the same things, but that's not a requirement of love and building a life together.

I have family members that I don't agree with and their choices aren't ones that I could ever make. There may be spiritual things that need to be dealt with, but I know the Holy Spirit can do a much better job than I can at drawing them to Christ; so I pray for them. Some of us have differing political opinions, so we just don't discuss politics. Sometimes they may feel like others are intolerant and should be more open-minded. But, they are always welcome to come to our home and I love them. My love for them isn't based on anything, other than the fact, that I just love them and will always be there for them.

It's the same with a really good friend. Our friendship is based upon common ground that we share. We know the differences in how we believe and other areas, but that's not a hindrance to caring for one another.

I wish the world could understand that love and caring and kindness should never be based on whether or not we agree with one another. My faith and relationship with God may say that there are things that are sin and I am uncomfortable with how those things are seemingly in my face every time I watch TV, or on social media, or just out in public. If I speak up, I'm judged as being intolerant and discriminate and "religious". If I say nothing, that I'm seen as accepting and unspiritual.

Right or wrong, I've made my peace with being kind, loving, compassionate and caring; while letting it be known that I am a christian who loves Jesus and cherishes the relationship that I have with Him. I stay out of arguments, as much as possible, and keep many of my opinions private. My hope is that people will see Jesus in my life and see His love shining through my life. My hope is that when those who need the Lord come to a place of needing prayer or someone to speak encouragement into their life, that they will think of me.

1 Corinthians 13 not only tells us what love is, it tells us what love isn't. Even if we could speak all the languages of the earth and of angels, but didn't have love, then we are only being a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (We're just a bunch of annoying racket!) Even if we had the gift of prophecy and understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and had faith that we could remove mountains, but didn't love others, we would be nothing. If we gave everything to the poor, we could boast about it, but if we don't love others then we would have gained nothing.

Love, love, love!! That's what Jesus wants from each of us!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Will Rogers is often quoted as saying he "never met a man I didn't like." (I didn't find proof the quote is genuine, but I'm sure it is.) That is astonishing to me.

I've met many people I really don't like being around. Sometimes they are annoying, sometimes offensive, sometimes have horrible odor. Whatever the cause, I just can't stand being around certain people for very long.

But there is a subtle difference between not liking someone and not liking to be around them. People I really don't like are much more rare. Looking back at my past, it's hard to come up with anyone I truly dislike. There were several people who were actively and deliberately mean to me or to friends. And I very strongly disliked them at the time. And I have no desire to meet any of them to catch up on our lives since then. But I don't hate them now, and I don't really know that I dislike them, either.

The more I get to know Jesus, and the more I try to see people through His eyes, the harder it has become to hate. I don't really know that I could hate anyone now. I may hate what they are doing or how they behave, but I don't really hate them.

But I'm still sure I could honestly say that "I haven't met a man I didn't like." Being able to withhold hatred or dislike for someone isn't quite the same as liking them no matter what. I really admire Will Rogers for his attitude.

But Jesus said we must go one step further. We must love our neighbors. He also said that we must love our enemies, too! That no longer seems impossible to me. But I can't honestly say I'm there all the time. It's one of those things I'm still working on.

ON THE MENEWE:

Frito Corn Salad

Mix first five ingredients and chill. Stir in corn chips just before serving. You may not want to add all of the corn chips; but only a little at a time, until it's to your liking.

Some people prefer to serve the Fritos on the side or crumble on top.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

The first time that Jon's family took a skiing vacation, Jon was just a little boy. His mom was so excited, because she thought she would have someone to stay on the bunny slopes with her. That first morning, Jon was given instructions on how to ski, and took to it like duck to water! His mom was so disappointed that he left her to the bunny slopes by herself and had excelled so quickly. He wasn't necessarily athletic and not into sports, so she didn't think that he would learn so fast and love it so much.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

While it looks like things are out of control,

behind the scenes there is a God who has not surrendered authority. - A.W. Tozer

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org